City again exceeds water limit use, could face tougher restrictions

Published 4:28 pm, Monday, June 6, 2011

Midland residents could be facing tougher restrictions after the city surpassed its water limit by nearly 3 million gallons over the weekend.

Mayor Wes Perry said the City Council will vote next week on whether to make the current water restrictions mandatory and issue citations for those not complying. Following that decision, he said, the city may look at reducing outdoor watering to two days per week, down from the present three days.

"I do believe we're going to make some changes," Perry said.

The restrictions may become necessary depending on what's decided by the Colorado River Municipal Water District board at its Wednesday meeting. John Grant, CRMWD executive director, said he will recommend the board reduce the amount of water provided to each city by as much as an additional 10 percent. It already has restricted each city to water levels of 10 percent below their respective "high-use days" in previous years.

At this point, Midland's limit is set at 24.71 million gallons per day. On Sunday, the city used 27.348 million gallons -- the most utilized in one day this year. The overage was the fourth within a week, according to data from the city of Midland.

Grant said at the CRMWD they're looking at averages and so far each city has managed to stay at or right below its limits. But, he said with continued dry weather, they're worried the present limits won't be enough.

"We're staying right at the monthly average," he said. "We don't have a factor of safety in our operations. That's what's making us nervous."

When cities go over their permitted amounts now, he said the system can draw from the water district's reserves. If that happens enough, the reserves also could run dry, he said.

"That water has to come from somewhere," Grant said. "We have storage in our system and that's where that comes from. If we do that consistently we'll pump our storage."

On Monday, Spence Reservoir was 1.78 percent full and on track to run dry in the next few weeks, he said. O.H. Ivie Reservoir was 27.05 percent full, he said. Once Spence runs dry, the transmission capacity from the district to Midland and other cities will be limited, which is part of why restrictions had to be put in place during the spring.

Jim Purcell, president of the CRMWD board of directors, said past leaders had the foresight to build the reservoirs. Now, he said they have to be cautious in how they manage what's left.

"We'll review all of our options and then try to make an informed decision," he said. "Without further rain we don't have a lot of options."

Odessa also surpassed its limit over the weekend with the city reporting it used 27.64 million gallons on average. Its limit is set at 25.24 million gallons.

Unlike Midland, Odessa and Big Spring already have systems in place to issue citations to those not complying with water restrictions, though neither city has fined anyone yet.

Merita Sandoval, director of community development for the city of Odessa, said they've issued about 400 notices of non-compliance and are just now preparing to fine repeat offenders. Residents can be fined up to $200 for their first offense.

"Once they see that the city's really serious and this is a serious situation I really hope (usage) will drop," she said.

In addition to monitoring the streets during the day, she said Odessa also has implemented a night shift to catch those who are watering on an undesignated night. "That's where we're finding our violations," she said.

The city of Big Spring also still is in the warning stage. Staff said they're putting out door hangers like Midland has done and also are issuing verbal warnings.

Water rules in Big Spring are slightly more restrictive than in Midland, as residents are asked to water between either 6 p.m. and midnight or midnight and 10 a.m. on their designated days.

In Midland and Odessa, people can water between 6 p.m. on their designated days and 10 a.m. the next morning.

The Midland City Council already has approved on first reading the enacting of a drought ordinance that would allow for fines of up to $500 for home and business owners not following watering restrictions. If considered and passed at next week's council meeting, city staff could start issuing citations.

Kathleen Thurber can be reached at kthurber@mrt.com.

Outdoor watering schedule:

Even addresses: Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays

Odd addresses: Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays

Watering is not permitted between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. An assigned day starts at 6 p.m. that day and carries through to 10 a.m. the next morning.